Withdrawal from second homes lending
Leeds Building Society is withdrawing from new lending on second homes to focus more of its efforts on helping people onto the housing ladder.
The Society is focusing on other sectors, such as affordable housing and its support for first time buyers, in support of its purpose to put home ownership within reach of more people.
Second homes are defined by the Society as additional residential properties which are not let out.
“We’ve taken this decision after a great deal of thought as we don’t believe support for second homes is compatible with our purpose to put home ownership within reach of more people,” said Richard Fearon, Leeds Building Society’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Second homes reduce the number of properties available for people to live in, at a time when there’s a wide consensus that housing supply in the UK is inadequate to meet demand and needs to be increased.
“In addition, any home other than a main residence usually lies empty most of the time, which does not serve the local community or contribute to the local economy.”
Existing second homes borrowers will be offered a product transfer at the end of their current fixed term deal.
THIS INFORMATION IS FOR USE BY FCA AUTHORISED INTERMEDIARIES ONLY AND MUST NOT BE DISTRIBUTED TO POTENTIAL BORROWERS